Expected, But Not Unwanted
by serenitymeimei
Summary: "Dani Reese came out of the orange grove that day a changed woman." Post One, 2x21. Crews/Reese


**Disclaimer: **Life isn't mine. If it were, it wouldn't have been canceled and we would've seen _far_ more of those lacy, purple panties!

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Dani Reese came out of the orange grove that day a changed woman.

She remembers feeling her heart flutter at the sight of him standing there, with his head tilted toward the sky. Like a mirage in the desert and a homemade apple pie on a cool fall day. He was alive. Living, breathing, basking in the warmth of the sun on his face. His fiery, red hair guiding them down that dirt road, like a beacon in the night.

Dust swirled around them, the car barely slowing to a stop before she bailed and practically flew into his arms. He caught her, as always, and she felt a chuckle vibrate through him as he spun her around in rare instance of shared joy. Up until that moment, as the world blurred around her and tears began clouding her eyes, she's convinced that she'd never known the true meaning of relief. Never felt it as strongly as she did that afternoon, intimately pressed against him, locked in an embrace that would've surely ended with her punching him in the face only a few weeks before.

She hadn't cared how it might look, not at the time and definitely not now. They were alone, just them and hundreds of trees swaying in the breeze. Nothing else mattered. Not the LAPD, not Tidwell, not the FBI agent rolling his eyes at them only ten yards away. In Charlie Crews' universe none of it was really there anyway, right? So, Dani clung to him, melting into the solid mass of his chest as he carefully lowered her back to the ground, a wide smile never leaving her lips.

He'd held her for nearly five minutes that day, words between them unnecessary. All she'd needed was him- to feel his chin rest upon the crown of her head and his warm palm steady against the small of her back. Falling hypnotized by the rhythm of his ribs expanding with each breath, in and out, over and over again, too exhausted to acknowledge the fact that he, her partner, her friend, had literally traded his life for hers less than an hour before. Without a plan or even a second thought. Only knowing that he had to get her out of that SUV any way he could, even if it meant dying as an end result, dying for her. No one, not even her father, had ever fought to protect her so fiercely, and coming to terms with it all had been too overwhelming to comprehend in that moment.

Instead, she'd focused on here and now. Saving the why's and what-if's for later. And only when she'd thoroughly convinced herself that he was really there and not just a figment of her imagination, that he was safe, did she seek to end their embrace. To her surprise though, he'd tugged her back in. Their hips bumped together as his palms tenderly cupped her face, thumbs wiping the moisture from beneath her eyes. It was then that she'd realized something had shifted between them, something big. Changing over the course of her tenure at the FBI and in the last few hours, but more importantly in those next few seconds. Just long enough for him to flash her a playful grin and let his gaze casually drop down to her lips, as if it had happened dozens times before.

She wishes that she could've said she was surprised, but that would've been a lie. She'd seen it coming long ago and repressed it like she did with everything else in her life. Still, when his head dipped down toward her the tiniest bit, her stomach had flipped in response, thick and languid. A reaction strong enough to make her grip tighten on his shoulders and hot breath stutter in the back of her throat.

Dani had desperately wanted him to kiss her then. Going as far as lifting herself up onto the balls of her feet in an attempt to meet him halfway, longing to connect them on that last visceral level. But he refrained, smiling softly as he pressed his lips against her forehead and tangled his fingers through her hair. It was an apology, a promise of what's to come. The gesture making her blush and lean into him further, one palm sliding down his chest until it rested over the puckered scar of his gunshot wound, where he quickly covered it with one of his own, holding it there.

He'd lingered only a minute longer, tilting his head toward the car in question with a raised brow, before she let him tug her toward the vehicle and then slide into the backseat right behind her. They'd sat side by side with their thighs pressed tightly together, fingers still threaded loosely between his, just as she'd longed to do earlier that day. Back before Roman had barked at them to keep to themselves and she'd stood there watching helplessly as he was patted down and then tossed into the very same car she'd just escaped from.

"You okay, Crews?" Bodner had asked, catching both of their gazes in the rearview mirror after turning the ignition.

Charlie turned toward her, a shy smile flicking across his lips as he squeezed her palm, "Yeah, we're good."

Mirroring his grin- a true, radiant smile- Dani realized for the first time in quite a while that everything really _was _good. She hadn't felt the urge to drown herself in booze or pick up a married man in some random bar for a one night stand.

She'd felt- _serene..._ and two days later, she still felt it, laying there (fully clothed, mind you) in Charlie Crews' king sized bed.

She was so certain that she'd never see him again, never roll her eyes at him, or get annoyed when he left fruit in the car, and that had terrified her. She'd been scared before, sure. Stabbed, choked, and knocked unconscious by suspects in the past, but none of those experiences, _none of them_, had made her heart clench in terror quite like had that day. So, now that she had him back, could reach out and touch him without consequences, she was a little reluctant to let go. And as it turns out, so was he, especially after being held for questioning down at the station for nearly thirty six hours.

Charlie stirred behind her, his arm tightening around her waist sleepily, "You're still awake?"

She shivered, arching into him as he nuzzled her hair aside and let out a heavy sigh, his breath puffing past her ear as he relaxed into her.

"Just thinking."

"Just thinking?" he repeated, mulling it over just like he always did, "What are you thinking about, Reese?"

Letting her eyes slip shut, a small handful of images filled her senses- the feeling of late afternoon sun beating down on them as trees dotted with orange swirled around her, and of him, waiting for her in the middle of that dirt road, sure that she'd come back for him, that she'd know he was there.

She finally understood.

"Zen, Charlie," her lips twitched into a faint smile, "I'm thinking about zen."

**End.**


End file.
